


The Pawprint

by Sharking



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Andreil, Angst, Anxiety, Artist Andrew Minyard, Crushes, Dan is the editor, F/F, F/M, Gay Panic, Highschool Newspaper Au, M/M, Neil is the new kid, Panic Attacks, Photographer Aaron, Renee is the art editor, Reporter Kevin Day, Riko runs the literary arts publication, Rivalry, School paper, Unhealthy Relationships, aka the Poe, because I'm cheesy, lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:28:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29329314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharking/pseuds/Sharking
Summary: Palmetto High School wasn't exceptional in anyway, its school paper was no exception. Neil really should have thought more when he was registering for classes
Relationships: Katelyn/Aaron Minyard, Matt Boyd/Danielle "Dan" Wilds, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Nicky Hemmick/Erik Klose, Seth Gordon/Allison Reynolds
Comments: 5
Kudos: 34





	1. Syllabus

**Author's Note:**

> Everything scaled down in this, Kevin and Jean work for the rival paper at school run by Riko who’s manipulative and an asshole but not abusive, Neil and his mom are kind of on the run but Nathan’s just abusive not a straight up murderer, and Andrew’s not on drugs in this.
> 
> Thank you for reading I hope you enjoy
> 
> TW: I do Seth a little dirty in this, he uses "Autistic" as a put down

Palmetto High School had a pretty shitty reputation. It's sports team's were so-so, it's academics ranged from okay to meh, even the campus was bland and unimpressive. It was the perfect place to hide. No one would accidentally stumble upon it even if they tried.

So that's why Neil, with a new name and freshly dyed hair, decided that's where he'd attend. He spent maybe a week casing the place out. In the mornings he jogged around the track. The only other people there, before any of the busses or the cars started to roll in, were the people who smoked weed under the bleachers. So far none of them had attempted to make contact. He was thankful for that. There were some old people there too but they all seemed to mutually decide not to interact with each other.

His mom had given him a week to decide between two schools. Which meant this was long term. They'd only spent a week anywhere before this. They had stayed in motels all the while. But this time his mom was looking for apartments. Which also meant this was long term. He sort of wished there was a third sign, just for the sake of balance. Maybe he'd just turn something into a reason, so it all wrapped up nicely. Juliet was his mother's name now, and she'd smack him over the head for thinking stupid shit like that. Patterns and what not. To be fair she smacked him for a lot of things though so Neil allowed himself the rule of thirds just this once. 

She was nothing like his father though. He was a real piece of shit. Well and truly garbage. Neil knew it, Neil's friends knew it, Neil's mom knew it, and he's sure even his dad knew it. How oblivious can you be? If you fuck up your kid so bad they can't walk or move, you're probably trash. So Neil didn't feel too bad when his mom stole a shit ton of money from him and left. In fact he was glad.

He didn't love the hiding though. 

Turns out his dad was not only incredibly abusive but also hell bent on "getting them back". His father hadn't cared about them when they were in Baltimore, why would he care about them now? Neil knew the answer. It was because Neil and Mary had made him look like an idiot in front of all his rich and equally abusive business partners. Turns out millionaires tend to be pieces of shit. Or pieces of shit tend to become millionaires. Probably a bit of both. 

Well Neil thought Palmetto had the right amount of millionaires which was one tops. That one was probably the kid who drove a Maserati to school. Neil planned to avoid said asshole as long as possible. How ridiculous, flaunting your wealth for a bunch of lower middle class kids. Congrats, you're rich, fuck you. Well, Neil wouldn't say that to the kid if they ever met. He promised his mom he wouldn't get into any trouble. 

So he'd be joining the ranks of this unimpressive school at the start of the next semester, in a week and a half. He'd be Neil Josten and he wouldn't befriend anyone who seemed rich or sadistic or anything more than an overly friendly high schooler. That was the plan. 

-

Two days in and the plan went up in flames.

The weekend before his first day, he and his mom had gone two towns down and shopped for clothes so he could fit in. But the truth is Neil didn't really know how to do that. Fit in that is. He had only had a few friends, all of whom were his father's business partner's kids. They saw each other maybe once a year and had grown to be a little more than acquaintances. So he didn't really know how to talk to kids his own age. 

He'd also lived in the abusive house of a millionaire. So he didn't really know what life was like for normal kids. He felt way in over his head.

The few friends he'd made in the parks while they'd been motel skipping had been two day friendships tops. It was the sort of thing where both parties involved knew the label friends was just a temporary tattoo.

So socially he was already up against it with little experience or friendliness to his name. He decided he couldn't really mess up if he just made himself as boring as possible.

At the thrift store he bought plain clothing without logos or embellishments and decided on the fun facts he may have to share for icebreakers. He liked to go for runs, his favorite color was black, he loved to make his own smoothies, his family had a garden in their backyard, his older sister was off to college and his mom was working from home for an accounting firm, his favorite music genre was classic rock, he didn't much like books but his favorite movie was Baby Driver. 

He and his mother had encountered one of his father's men at a mall once and had hidden in a movie theater. Through blinding panic and fear he saw about 25 minutes of the movie. It was the only one he'd seen since he was too little to remember. 

He repeated the list over and over as he pulled another shirt, this time navy, from the rack. By the time they left the store he'd memorized it all.

Two days in the list was more or less forgotten. He'd pick this schedule at random. Classes a sophomore might hypothetically need to take to get their requirements in. He had six classes in all, on Mondays and Thursdays he had all the odd number classes and on Tuesdays and Fridays he had all the even number classes. On Wednesday he had them all. 

He wrote this in his journal after the first day, which opposed to the normal schedule had all six classes:

First Period: Biology 

Pros: Seems easy enough, comfortable stools, no one talks to me besides my desk partner  
Cons: My desk partner is very chatty

Second Period: World History

Pros: Teacher seems okay, no late homework penalties  
Cons: Seating wise I'm surrounded by a friend group who are trying to include me

Third Period: Team Sports

Pros: An Exy unit early on, I get to run around a bunch, nobody bothers me  
Cons: I'm making a friend

Fourth Period: Geometry 

Pros: Easy as fuck  
Cons: Boring as fuck

Fifth Period: AP English

Pros: none  
Cons: Already so hard and it's the first day, chatty friendly smart people, participation grade, discussion and reading based

Sixth Period: Newspaper Production

Pros: ???  
Cons: They want to get to know me

So that's how Neil found himself after the first day. 

This week, so as to allow students to get settled into their classes, every day had every class. It was exhausting and Neil felt his feet stick to the floor a little more with each step. It was the end of his second day and the Newspaper Production class was on the third floor. It was a daunting trek up all those stairs but with a sigh and determination he made his way up. 

He was nearly out of breath but this time he slunk into the classroom. It was a relatively small room with terribly small windows. There were two long rows of computers that ran nearly the entire length of the room. Across from them were the teacher's desks and what Neil was told were the editor's desks. In the corner next to the editors computers was the closet that held cameras and other equipment that he'd been told he'd need throughout the year. At the very back of the class was a table already covered in newspapers. There were highlighters and markers strewn across the surface. They hadn't been there on Neil's first day of class.

He had been lucky enough to snag a computer surrounded by a gruff looking antisocial guy and the wall. It was only after they'd all sat down on the first day that Danielle, the editor in chief of the paper for the year, had told them these seats were permanent. They'd be stuck here for the rest of the semester. Neil was thankful Lady Luck was on his side for once.

He sat down five minutes before the start of class and pretended to do homework so no one would talk to him. A minute or so before class the gruff guy sat down and promptly went on his phone. 

Neil thinks he'd grow to appreciate him.

The bell ring and the teacher strolled in as he always did, serenaded by an annoying chiming and a full cup of coffee. He sat at his desk and motioned for everyone to be quiet. Danielle walked to the front of the class.

"Hello again everybody! Nice to see a new face or two who weren't here yesterday! We'll be continuing with the get-to-know-you stuff until next Monday when we'll start getting to work."

Neil repressed the eye role he felt coming.

"Our first activity of the day will be like a never have I ever sort of thing. Basically you'll each get an index card and write down one thing about you that you think most of the people in class have in common with you, one thing you think some people have in common with you, and one thing you think is unique to you. Renee will be passing the cards out."

Fuck. That word played over and over in Neil's mind. All the facts he memorized were boring, neutral, blend-in facts. 

The girl who must have been Renee handed him a card and he took it without comment. The boy next to him just grunts. The girl after that thanked her cheerily. They were quite a trio. 

For most he wrote:

I like fruit

For some he wrote: 

I like to play sports

And for only him he wrote:

He couldn't think of anything. He didn't know these people. He knew most people at least liked one type of fruit and that only some people play sports. He didn't know what no one else did. He couldn't write, "currently hiding from a psychopath millionaire" or "currently using fake papers to attend this school" or "anything that was actually true. As Danielle called out a two minute warning he stayed frozen. As Renee began to collect the cards he stayed right where he was, pen lingering over the empty section. She got to him and stuck out her hand.

He looked up then looked to the boy and the girl to his right. He nodded his head to them and she nodded, temporarily moving on. This would only buy him 20 seconds tops.

He wasn't even sure if the thing he scribbled was legible but Renee took it with a small smile he distrusted and it was shuffled into the stack.

Danielle took it from the girl and shuffled them herself. She smiled brightly at the class and she called everyone's attention to the front.

"So we're going to do a little activity called stand up sit down, ignore the unoriginal title. Basically everyone will start standing and if the statement doesn't apply to you sit down. It's like never have I ever but if you have you stay standing and if you haven't you sit down. We probably won't get through everyone's since the period's so short but we'll try. Alrighty, everyone on our feet."

Neil waited for a second until he was sure she meant for them all to stand.

Once more the cards got shuffled in her hands before they were handed off to the teacher. He was an older middle aged man with thick arms and a mean expression. Grumpy might have been the more appropriate word. Neil didn't trust him and didn't particularly want him reading off his non-truths in front of the entire class.

There was no one to look at for help so he just stared at his desk.

"Okay," the man started, pausing to take a sip of coffee before putting down all but one card, "Stay standing if you are an upperclassman." 

Neil let out a sigh of relief as he and maybe two other people sat down. He kept staring at the fake wood grain on the desk.

"Stay standing if you're a guy."

The remaining girls sat down.

"Stay standing if you're try-lingual."

All but one guy, tall and open looking, sat down. He smiled brightly. He had a sense of familiarity to him. Like you already knew him and had for years. Everyone in the class seemed to be drawn to him. 

"For formality's sake please introduce yourself." Familiarity with the teacher too.

The boy smiled brightly again, a habit it seemed, "Hey everyone, I'm Nicky!"

The teacher continued as if reading off a script, "What's your grade, your position on staff if you're a returner, and explain your just-you answer."

It didn't seem like he even needed the prompting and Nicky inhaled deeply before he began to speak, "I'm a senior and I run the Culture section of the Print with Allison," A girl catcalled him from somewhere behind a computer, "I speak English, Spanish and German. I'm fluent in the first two and working on my German. I'm nearly there."

The teacher, Womack, nodded and moved to grab another card, "Everyone up!" Neil didn't like his raised tone but stood dutifully anyway.

They continued like this for a while, three people had their cards pulled and Neil only made it to the second round once. There was Alvarez, a junior, who's family ran a restaurant, Aaron, a junior, who wanted to become a doctor, and Dan, a senior, who had 8 piercings. They were all fine, really Neil had little to no opinion of them. 

They took a break after that and Neil slipped into the hallway for water. As someone stepped away and it came his turn he felt a presence behind him. He paused, "You can go first if you want?" As he turned he saw who he thought was Aaron for half a second, but was distinctly not.

Twins.

He hadn't noticed there were twins in the class.

The boy said nothing but nodded for Neil to go next so he did. He rushed a little more than he would have had there not been someone waiting. He wiped a dribble from his throat as he stood up and let this twin take his turn. Neil didn't find the interaction very notable until the next card was pulled.

It was Neil's.

"Stay standing if you like fruit."

The twin was the only one to sit.

"Andrew I saw you eating strawberry shortcake this morning, stand yourself up." This was Nicky.

The boy stayed seated.

"Okay, stay standing if you like to play sports."

Some of the people dropped down but a fairly large proportion stayed standing. Neil worried he'd done the activity wrong.

The teacher recoiled a bit at Neil's last answer and he tensed his whole body without meaning to.

"Stay standing if your favorite subject is math."

And everyone sat down but Neil.

And then everyone was looking at him, including Wymack and the twin.

"Introduce yourself for the group." He'd done this before yesterday, he could do it again.

"Hi I'm Neil, I'm a sophomore and this is my first year doing Newspaper."

Danielle seemed to make a face at the way he phrased it.

"So math?"

Neil nodded, "It always makes sense. English and stuff is too subjective. You never know what's the right answer. Math's easy because there's nothing to be confused about."

There was a scoff to his right, "What are you autistic?" This was gruff man who Neil know decided could go fuck himself. He got a couple comments from the group and the teacher scolded him with a warning "Seth."

"Maybe you're just too dumb to understand it." And Nicky and other people laughed a little and the gruff guy just glared at him. Fuck, this was going to be his seat the entire year.

"Okay thank you Neil."

And he sat down.

The guy leaned over, "Just because you're younger than me doesn't mean I'm gonna let you fuck with me like that," Neil felt that he was the one getting fucked with in that situation but didn't voice this, "You're not invisible you little shit."

And before Neil could react the next card began.

They only did two more, Renee and Kaitlyn, before the end of class. He was the first one out the door.

It was day two when he ruined his plan. 

He had no intentions of telling his mother any of this and so he plastered on a neutral face as he walked the mile home. "Home" was currently Sunny Motel. It was cheap and effective. He was only a minute or two from school before a car pulled up beside him and Neil was prepared to spring into a sprint at the moment's notice. He was coiled tight but felt a little bit of that relax when he saw what care it was. The Maserati from school.

And in shotgun was the doctor, in the driver's seat was the twin and in the backseat was Nicky who was waving aggressively, "Neil! Need a ride?"

He did not.

"No."

Nicky frowned like a cartoon character, "Come on, it's no trouble."

Neil shook his head and Nicky looked ready to beg him to get in the car when the twin made eye contact with him, nodded, then drove away.

His hands were numb by the time he got to their room. There was a note in his mother's handwriting, "Out viewing apartments. Won't be back until 7 or 8. Don't order any food I'm bringing some."

So he sat on his bed, turned the tv on, and waited for his mom to return. The rerun on the off-color screen was more of background noise as he grabbed the pencil from the bedside table and his journal from his bag. It's edges were worn away and stained in places. He only had a few more pages left to write in. He wasn't sure what he'd do with it when it was full but that was a problem for Neil a few days down the road. He'd deal with it then.

He flipped back a few pages to the class chart and found his pros and cons for Newspaper, he erased the question marks and realized a third reason for the longtermness of their stay was slotting into place. Once there were only faded curves of the old markings he set his pencil to the paper:

Pros: The twin


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy!

On day three Neil realized he over reacted. As much as that Seth guy was a dick, he wasn't actually a threat. 

When he walked into class, the blonde girl who's name might have started with A, strutted up to him with a hand on her hip. She looked a little ridiculous. Neil thought she fit the Maserati more than the twins did. Maybe she was "too good" for a car and flew in everyday in a helicopter.

"Neil." Her voice matched her appearance.

"Hello."

She cocked her head to the side and they just held fierce eye contact for a second before her face broke out in a grin. She stepped forward and grabbed him by the shoulders pushing him towards the editors desks, "Come meet my friends."

Neil must have looked like a cartoon character digging their heels into the ground without actually being able to stop. He thought putting up too much of a fight would have drawn more attention so he just let her push him. She was rather strong.

The editors desk area had the three main desks for the leaders of the paper. Danielle as editor in chief, Renee as art director, and an empty desk that was supposed to be for the copy editor. Neil didn't know what that one meant but he hadn't seen anyone sit there the first two days. Beside the big three's desks were the section editor desks. They'd gone over the sections of the paper on the first day. There was Feature which focused on specific groups/people around the school. Arts and Culture which was pretty self explanatory. Sports which was also straight forward. Opinion which was the only section that used "I" language. And the Extra section which had "all the fun stuff". That's how Dan had described it when she was going through them.

Allison steered him away from the big three and into the section editor area, as that's where the group of people seemed to congregate. They acted like a big group of friends which was intimidating. She kept pushing until he was standing at the entrance tot he circle of computers, he was the center of attention but she kept her hands on his shoulders so he couldn't have escaped even if he wanted to. 

"Neil, let me introduce you." She pointed over his shoulder to each person as she went.

"That's Dan as you probably know. She's never not this intense in this classroom but out of it she's the best." The editor made a fake little offended noise but smiled at Neil.

"That's Matt he runs the sports section and he carried me up the stairs last year when I sprained my ankle, so you know the boy is strong." She said it with a laugh and Matt gave her a confused look.

"Why was that my introduction? Now he's just gonna think I'm some meathead."

Dan put a hand on his thighs and had a fake sympathetic look on her face, "You are a meathead. A sweet one though." And they both laughed. Neil felt distinctly weird just standing there and watching it. 

"That's Nicky he runs A and C with me. Uhh, what's a fun fact about you?" The question was posed to the dark skinned boy who was splitting his attention between his phone and the conversation. At her question he whipped his head up looking genuinely offended.

"Bitch do you really not have a fun fact about me?"

"I'm blanking okay it's not my fault."

"Well Aaron and Andrew are my cousins."

The group seemed to react to the names with discomfort, "Whatever we're moving on from you. This is Jeremy, Alvarez and Laila." She pointed to each as she named them, "They're a trio so therefore will be introduced as such. I cannot discern each of their personalities. They're all jocks and the nicest people you'll ever meet. It's disgusting." They didn't seem offended so he assumed it was an inside joke of some sort.

"We literally play on the same team Allison. Doesn't that make you a jock too." Jeremy teased her playfully.

"Shhh I have an image to maintain."

"You're a starter." It was in a stage whisper Neil was obviously meant to hear.

"Whatever. At least I'm not a three sport athlete."

They all just smiled despite her tone and he was able to slip away when the bell rung. He did have to slide past Seth though and it wasn't a very pleasant experience. He had intentionally left very little room for Neil. What a dick.

Danielle, who was actually Dan, got to the front of the class as Wymack grumbled in to sit at his desk.

"Okay we're going to split up into two groups, one will go in Wymack's other classroom and the other group will stay here. We're gonna have returners on staff lead the discussion. I'm gonna number you all off so remember what I give you. And no cheating to be with your best friends okay?"

She went through everyone and Neil was so so grateful that the number system guaranteed he'd be separated from Seth. He wasn't so happy that he'd have to have a "discussion" with these people. He'd had enough discussions in English class to last him a lifetime. Hopefully they'd realize he was boring and leave him alone. Dan came by and gave him a finger gun alongside a "two". He held his fingers in a peace sign to remember. He wouldn't have forgotten in the first place but he wasn't going to mess everyone up by somehow not remembering. This was a safety precaution and he held his two fingers under the desk and out of sight.

"Group one you're staying here with me and group two you'll be going into the other room with Renee. Bring your stuff with you."

Neil had at least been introduced to Dan but his only interaction with Renee had involved him not being able to think of something unique about himself. Hopefully this wouldn't be too grueling. He only had to survive forty five minutes max. He could probably make it forty with a well timed bathroom break. Matt got up and so did Jeremy and Laila. So the only one that he didn't know the name of was the twin who silently got up to join them. In the movement of the groups he noticed that the smiley girl two seats down from him didn't move to go with his group. She was defecting. How interesting. 

It was only down the hallway but the walk to Wymack's other room felt like a death march. He stayed to himself while people chatted all around.

Wymack stood at the door as everyone passed and Neil felt like defecting too just to avoid the close contact. It's not like a teacher could hit him in front of everyone else. That would be stupid. Besides Wymack hadn't done anything yet to indicate he would hurt anyone at all. Still, Neil pushed to the furthest point of the doorway as he passed.

This classroom was distinctly an English classroom. There was a huge bookshelf that was overflowing and the desks were arranged in a circle. By the time Neil got in, the group was already pulling the chairs over the desks and arranging them in a tighter circle. Great. How intimate.

He set his chair between Matt and Laila. Across from him was the twin. He looked especially bored but was staring right at Neil who just stared back until Renee drew both of their attention with a little clap.

"Okay guys, we're just gonna go round and do names again. I know, I know after this week we won't anymore okay? I'm Renee."

"I'm Jeremy."

"I'm Matt."

"Neil."

"Hey I'm Laila."

"Andrew."

Renee clapped her hands again, "Alrighty now we'll be getting into groups of two until we've all had the opportunity to have a discussion with each other."

Fuck

"We'll give you a topic for the two minute discussions and I'll let you know when it's time to switch. Jeremy you're with Matt to start, Neil you're with Laila, and I'll be with Andrew. You're first topic is what you'd do if a zombie apocalypse broke out tomorrow. Time starts now."

And then everyone was talking. Neil looked to his side to see Laila with her chair turned towards him. He scooted his and winced at the loud noise. She just kept smiling. She had dark skin and a light pink hijab framing her face. Neil wondered how anyone could be so happy all the time.

"So." She said.

"So." He parroted.

"I'd build an underground city with all my friends and we'd have a system in place to let people in if they were for sure not infected zombies."

"What?"

She laughed a little, not at him. It was lighthearted. Turns out people in high school laughed a lot, "That would be my plan for a zombie apocalypse. What about yours?"

He just looked at her for a second before shaking his head, "A boat. I'd live on a boat by myself."

She cocked her head to the side as if thinking about it.

"Where would you sail?"

"Somewhere warm."

She hummed in agreement so he took a second to look around. The other groups were deep in discussion. Matt and Jeremy were gesturing wildly to each other while Renee and Andrew were a little more reserved in their actions. They all were talking though. Carrying an easy conversation.

Fuck.

He did not have the social stamina for this.

When he turned back Laila was looking at him with a question on her face. He just looked down, "I'm not very good at this sort of thing."

"Talking?"

He nodded and felt embarrassed about it. She let out another chuckle, this time it sounded a little self deprecating, "You're the only person new to staff in our group. We've all known each other for at least a year or two. It's normal to feel a little weird meeting all these new people."

He just scrunched his face and she continued, "I've got pretty bad anxiety. I always have. In third grade I freaked out so bad at a field trip my family had to drive thirty minutes to pick me up."

Neil wondered why she was sharing this with him at all.

"I'm not this chatty with everyone. I've gotten better definitely and I try to be kind to everyone I meet, but these are some of my best friends. Don't worry if it's weird now, it won't be soon. This class has a way of leaving you with some lifelong friends. "

He made another little face but tried to give her a little smile.

"So tell me about this boat."

The next minute passed by okay. Laila carried most of the conversation which he greatly appreciated. A little alarm went and everyone turned back to the center. Renee was smiling again. everyone smiled so much in this class. maybe the proportions of smilers were off and this group just had an overload. 

"Next will be Matt and Neil, Laila and Andrew, and Jeremy and I. You're topic is if you were a superhero what would your backstory or power be. Okay go."

Neil was a little more prepared and turned his chair at the same time as the big smiling "meathead" Matt. He was smiling too. God. Neil was already feeling tired. 

He stuck out his hand which was weird to Neil but he took it anyway. Instead of what Neil expected, Matt tried to do weird handshake thing and Neil pulled his hand away. The action earned him a confused look, "Do you not know that?"

Neil shook his hand and Matt just smiled holding his hand out again, "Let me show you how."

Neil did and Matt took his hand through a series of motions. This seemed like a very odd thing to do with someone you've never met. Neil looked away, not sure what he was supposed to do. As he looked over the groups again he met the eye of the twin, Andrew he had said, before looking back at Matt.

"Got it?"

Whatever Neil's expression was it made Matt laugh loudly. The same way he'd laughed with Jeremy. His smile crinkled his eyes. He had the slightest gap between his teeth.

"Here let me show you again. Just follow along with what I do."

They spent the rest of their two minutes trying to learn the handshake and by the end of it Neil could do a very slowed down version. Apparently "everyone did it". Neil highly doubted that but wouldn't say anything. When the timer rang he realized they hadn't discussed their superpowers at all. He hoped that wouldn't be a problem but by Matt's carefree attitude it seemed like it wouldn't be a big deal.

Once again everyone turned to the center.

"Alrighty next up we have Jeremy and Neil, Matt and Andrew, and Laila with me. Your topic is what's your favorite hobby or one you want to pick up?"

These pairings required a little reconfiguring of the chairs. Neil took Matt's spot, Matt took Renee's and Renee took Neil's. It was weird that they figured it out without discussing it first.

Neil instantly felt like he was squinting at the sun in front of Jeremy. Not literally of course. Jeremy just looked like every California postcard ever. He had shaggy curly sun bleached hair, tan skin and freckles, and the brightest smile Neil had ever seen. It was intimidating.

"Hey I'm Jeremy! Nice to meet you!"

Neil was certain every sentence he said would be followed by three exclamation points. It seemed his tone matched his appearance, sunny and bright.

"Nice to meet you too."

"I know this can be a lot to take in, I hope you're settling in well." Jeremy must have known he was new to the school. It wasn't a very small school and it seemed very possible for someone to slip through the cracks. Apparently Jeremy wouldn't let that happen for Neil.

"It's been good thanks."

He didn't seem to be put off by Neil's lackluster responses.

"What stuff do you like? Like hobbies and stuff?

Neil thought of his list, "I like to run."

Jeremy smiled brightly, his cheeks must be sore, "Kevin told me about you I think. He said there's this short guy in his P.E class who's got "ridiculous potential" and was super fast," he put on a voice when he said ridiculous potential and did a little mocking face, it was all lighthearted though, "You know Kevin right?"

Neil hadn't known his name until that moment but yes, he knew Kevin. That was the guy who was trying to be his friend in his team sports class. He'd introduced himself once and Neil didn't catch his full name and had felt too weird about asking. He was a little more thankful for Jeremy in that moment. He nodded and Jeremy went on a tangent about Kevin. They played on the exy team together and Jeremy was trying to get him to join Track. He cracked himself up a couple times throughout the stories and Neil could understand why people liked him so much. Somehow his high energy wasn't tiring. It was a bit much, but still sort of nice. His mother never showed this much emotion or joy. 

The alarm went off and Jeremy sighed, "I'll finish telling you that story another time."

So far Neil hadn't totally hated these conversations. Laila had been kind but a little too revealing, Matt had been sweet but a little bit much, and Jeremy hadn't made him talk much at all. He had expected at least one of the conversations to go badly but so far none had. 

"Next up is Jeremy and Andrew, Laila and Matt, and Neil you're with me," They rearranged again, "The topic is . . . shoot I forgot what the fourth one was."

Andrew's bored voice came forward, "Movies."

She smiled at him and Neil thought maybe he caught on to something there.

"Yes that's right thank you Andrew, Movies or tv shows that you love! Time starts now!" 

This time Neil got to see her setting the alarm on her phone before tossing it onto the carpeted floor. She turned to him with a softer sort of grin. Something calmer and less forced than his previous conversation companions. Now that Neil thought of it, he only had this one and one more before he was done. He could make it through two more.

"Hi," He was truly a flourishing conversationalist.

"Hello Neil. I'm glad you've decided to join the class. We all hope you enjoy it. Would you like to go first."

He very much did not want to go first.

"Sure. I like the movie Baby Driver." He had this memorized. This was no big deal at all. He was going to try his best to be normal with Renee. 

Her eyebrows drew together a little at his answer, "I've heard of it before, that's the getaway driver one?" He nodded, "Andrew tried to get me to watch it before." Okay Neil was definitely catching onto what was going on between those two. He'd be bragging to his mom about his social skills in no time. 

"What about you?" 

She smiled again, that same serene smile, "I like tv more than movies. It's a little embarrassing but I'm actually obsessed with reality shows."

"Like what?" Neil was definitely feeling great about this convo. Renee seemed weird in a way he couldn't place but she didn't seem to think he was too weird based off of how she was talking with him. Seemed like a level Neil could learn to live with.

"The Bachelor and Bachelorette," A dating show, "Survivor," Wilderness maybe, "Big Brother," that one book???, "and Are You the One. As of right now those are my favorites."

He nodded not sure what to say next.

"Have you seen them?"

He tried for a sheepish grin and thinks he succeeded, "Not really, my mom's not big on letting us watch a bunch of tv." She nodded like she understood so he thinks it was a successful diversion.

"Well I'll explain them to you."

And she did. Very in depth. He hadn't expected her to be as chatty as she was. For some reason the modesty of her clothing made him think she'd be more shy. She went through all the shows and at the last one she paused.

"Uh so the last one is like a dating show but it's for queer people so all genders and sexualities. It's really cool actually." She seemed to be looking for something on his face. He didn't know what his reaction was supposed to be so he just nodded like he had for all the past show descriptions. She smiled again and the timer went off. She turned to the group and he followed suit. 

"Alrighty, we're actually gonna take a small two or three minute break before out last pairings and before we move on to other stuff. Be back at 2:15." Jeremy pretty much sprinted into the hallway calling out that he left his water bottle in the other classroom and couldn't be dehydrated. It seemed a bit dramatic to Neil but he wouldn't make a comment outside of his head. 

He stood not sure where he was going. Neil decided on the water fountain but as he made his way out he saw Renee and Andrew out there talking. He didn't know if it would be an invasion of their privacy to go out now. Before he could decide Matt was bumbling into his back and pushing him into the hallway, "Sorry man! I was just going to take a piss."

He laughed at the face Neil made at his word choice, "Don't tell Dan I said it like that." He patted his back then stepped around him and towards the bathrooms, the same direction to where Andrew and Renee were still standing. Andrew was staring at him. He didn't know why but the other boy looked angry so he ducked back into the classroom.

He still didn't have a phone so he didn't have anything to fiddle with while he waited for the clock to run out. Soon Jeremy came back in, water bottle in hand, and then Matt and finally Andrew and Renee. She sat down next to Neil, the same seats they'd been in before and addressed the group right when the clock hit the deadline she set. How punctual.

"I believe these will be our last combinations and after this we'll just play some games until class is over. Okay so Matt you're with me, Jeremy with Laila and Neil and Andrew. Your topic of conversation is free choice this round."

Neil moved to the chair in front of Andrew who had already turned to face him. His head was cocked to one side but he looked fairly emotionless. Neil hadn't been intimidated by him until the hallway. What if he caught them making out. Neil thought that would have been significantly worse for him. Still, it was an invasion, and Andrew had seemed pissed then. Now he just looked meh. Or a carefully concealed something he wasn't willing to share with Neil. Which was fine. It was all fine. The first thing out of Andrew's mouth made no sense though,

"B-A-B-Y"

"What?" Neil said wondering if this was another handshake situation.

"Baby Driver? I heard you tell Renee you liked it."

Had they been talking about him? Shit, he knew he should have just stayed in his seat and never intruded. 

"Oh yeah. Uh..."

"Have you ever seen that movie?"

"Yes."

"Name any other character." Now there was a bit of amusement in Andrew's gaze. It was hidden well but came through with the slight raise of his left eyebrow. 

"Baby?"

"That's literally the one I named."

Neil didn't know any other characters name. Andrew clearly already knew that. He didn't really know what to do.

"I don't like movies."

Andrew nodded, he didn't believe him.

"If you haven't seen it why did you say it?"

"I don't know. It was the activity."

"Why specifically that movie?"

"Get off my back man it's just a movie."

"You've never seen a movie you liked?"

"I don't see why that's any of your business."

"It's the activity. Get off my back man" He said it mockingly and Neil seethed a little. 

"So what if I don't like movies, I don't see how that effects you at all."

"What do you like besides sports and math?"

He said the two words with disdain in his voice. It wasn't just Andrew's tone and expressionlessness that was intimidating. He was built. His arms and shoulders were as big as Matt's probably and that guy was, as Allison had put it, strong. Andrew must like exercising, why else would he be that buff? Neil couldn't wrap his head around it. He must have been staring for too long because when he got back to looking at Andrew's eyes there was annoyance in his gaze again. That's what it seemed like, the slight tilting of his head the furrow of his brows just enough to draw them together. Neil knew this expression well, and he didn't like it.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Those are my interests."

"You only have two interests?"

"Don't judge me asshole. At least my interests aren't smoking cigarettes and looking edgy all the time."

"At least I'm a real fucking person. The only people who like math are the one's who got the credit for inventing it."

"It's not inventing, it's discovering. You'd know that if you weren't such a self centered prick."

"Very original coming from someone who knows nothing about me or my life. Steal it from a mean comment section? Or did your mama teach you that one."

"Shut the fuck up!"

And Neil stood up to leave but when he turned to grab his bag everyone's eyes were on him. The timer had gone off during their argument. He'd just screamed at a guy who definitely had knives. In front of everyone. Fuck.

His mom was gonna kill him.

"Excuse me," Directed at Wymack without meeting his gaze, "I'm leaving for the day."

And he did. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, look for a new chapter soon!


End file.
